A 10.05km walk in the park for some, but for others, a real chance to claw some time back and maybe even land on the podium. The Individual Time Trial crowned a hard week in the saddle with an out and back route through the streets of San Benedetto del Tronto after a race that had seen UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, take two stage victories, in a race that highlighted both his improving form and the strong support of his BORA-hansgrohe teammates.
With Peter’s challenge for the Maglia Rossa all but complete, having supplemented his points with a second place on yesterday’s stage, it was supposed to be an uneventful stage for the UCI World Champion, with the aim of just getting through the day. However, just a few minutes into his run, the Slovak BORA – hansgrohe rider had to make a sharp detour from the course as a dog and its walker crossed in front of him. It was testament to Peter’s amazing bike handling skills that he was able to make his way onto the pavement to avoid a crash. Coming in 72nd position with a time of 12:37, the red points jersey was confirmed as his.
As only Peter can be, he was relaxed about being delayed on the course as he spoke about his performance. “I was lucky there wasn’t an incident with the lady who crossed the road with her dog – it was funny really. I didn’t brake because I was in my time trial position. I saw her really late, so the only way to avoid her was to go off road. Today I was relaxed – it was a rest day for me and I just wanted to get to the finish safe. I’m happy nothing happened and I’m looking forward to Saturday now.
Peter’s BORA-hansgrohe teammates were luckier in their runs, suffering none of the same misfortune – in particular Polish National Time Trial Champion, Maciej Bodnar, who finished his time on the course in a strong 11:33 and went straight into the stage’s top ten, staying there the remainder day, finishing an eventual 6th. “I think the Tirreno Adriatico went well, given the results Peter achieved. From my part, my crash on stage 3 took its toll. Initially, I thought it wasn’t a serious fall, but until today I had a leg full of liquid and my elbow was aching. However, today I was able to give my best and I’m satisfied with my performance.”
Team Coach, Patxi Vila, was happy with performances on the day and the race as a whole. “Maciej Bodnar took fifth at the Tirreno – Adriatico ITT in 2015 and 2016, so his sixth today puts him in the same place, more or less. However, he is still suffering from his injuries from stage 3. I think we can be happy with his performance. He was close to target and if he hadn’t crashed, I feel he could have done better. Overall it was a good top ten result for him and with the time trials of the season in mind, I consider we’re on track. In regard to Rafał Majka, we tested a new position and new materials today and the result was quite satisfactory. We can be quite happy with this final stage of Tirreno – Adriatico. Overall, our objective in the race was to try to win the two stages which Peter won. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the best Rafał on the Terminillo, so our GC hopes were gone. Still, he did a great job to help Peter win his second stage, so I think he’s in good form for the Volta a Catalunya. Finally, I think Peter is fine for the Classics, so we can be happy with the performance of the team.”
The next challenge comes on Saturday, as BORA – hansgrohe takes to the road again for the first of the Monuments. Milano Sanremo is one of the toughest one-day races of the professional calendar, covering an astounding 219km. While the course is fairly flat, the climbs come at just the right times to test the tired legs, with the infamous Poggio at the end where the fireworks happen.
